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2016-09-22 - Emma's Move Forward, Pt 2
The setup via Logan's contacts had been rather brief. While Emma was out in the city in the afternoon, a small letter had been dropped in her lap. All it had was a hotel room, a time, and a reminder to 'don't be late' briefly written in it. Telepathic scans had picked up nothing of whomever had set it down. So, assuming the White Queen was there at the prearranged time and place at a beaten down heap of an inner city hotel room, she would come to the room with two SHIELD Agents, their minds completely blank to her sitting in casual clothes. One female, hair up in a bun, the other with an extremely exaggerated bowler hat and mustache. The White Queen is nothing if not punctual. She hates those who fail at diligence, and always has. Her expression is classically stoic as she enters, eyes slightly narrowed as she notes the presence of some sort of...shielding for SHIELD. She snorts softly and cants her head as she quips,"Good thing I didn't dress up." The slightly out of shape man tips his bowler hat, "Welcome." He has a Boston accent, well to be precise a Southie accent. The hat is replaced on his head, "What can we do you for?" he asks. Maria Hill glances over, casually pulling out a file in front of her, folded crisply then that seems to have been mimeographed countless times from the faded look. "Emma Grace Frost. Daughter of Winston and Hazel Frost. Associated with the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, the.. Former Massachusetts Academy, and the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters." Her voice is as cool as the faded look on the file. "Currently being investigated for, among other things, a possible domestic terrorism incident at the Massachusetts Academy, investigation is currently circling for lack of evidence and a stonewall by numerous legal teams, a grand jury investigation into the disappearance of Adrienne Frost concurrent with the incident which has yet to file any recommended charges.. Further associations with the Inner Circle.." Flipping through the pages. Emma Frost nods with her lips pursed, an expression bordering on amusement as she listens to her infamy being spelled out. The look passes in short order however, and she speaks up as she folds her arms loosely and replies,"All well and true. I am indeed Emma Frost, COO of Frost Industries and the aforementioned. You are Maria Hill, is it Director or Assistant Director of SHIELD these days? Forgive me if I'm not as familiar with your records as you are mine. Until recently, I've done my best to keep well away from your organization. And your associate, Agent Timothy Dugan." She smiles cordially in kind to the gentleman. She then clears her throat mildly with the introductions out of the way, save for the other,"Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with your other associate." "Call me Dum Dum, everyone that calls me Timothy has passed." He then smiles, "It is good to know out people tell us more about you then your people tell you about us, after all we are the spies." A young man in SHIELD uniform chooses that moment to enter from the adjacent hotel room. He's well build, with fair skin, dark hair, and brilliant green eyes. The name tag on his chest says "S. Donelly" He has a helmet that is definitely not standard issue, and seems to provide some psychic buffering, but it is less thn perfect. He carries a case in one hand which he walks over and sets on top of the room's dresser, than opens, producing a wand used for bug sweeping. He walks over to Emma, "Ma'am?" It's not really a question, he starts running the wand over her, and when he is done, nods to the senior SHIELD staff. Maria's look of annoyance if anything increases, "Ms. Frost, please do explain to me just why you expect SHIELD to interfere in the affairs of multiple ongoing grand jury probes?" She glances over at Dugan gives a light nod to him in the background. As the Agent comes in, she gives a light nod to him and gestures at him as he starts to sweep, "But, Ms. Frost, we are listening. Make us an offer and we will consider it." This was how the game went. Emma Frost becomes formal, dropping the flippancy as things get to business. She draws a breath, then proceeds to explain,"As you can understand, being a domestic terrorism and murder suspect makes running a business inconvenient. Every public outing becomes a potential press meeting, I'm ready for that to end. In exchange for these problems...evaporating, I would consider myself endebted. To start, I offer my services within Frost Industries and the Inner Circle." She knits her brows slightly at this, well aware how high that is. But then, she hasn't had a life since starting at the Xavier School. As she said, it has been almost impossible to find a moment safe to leave. Such outings have been carefully planned. Dum Dum nods considering the offer at hand, "I see. There is one thing you have not done yet, I notice that you want these issue to vanish as you say but you did not mention being innocent of the charges." Agent Donelly takes out a completely different scanning tool, this one to search for weaponry. Standard procedure, even if largely unnecessary. He makes use of it, then announces, "No weapons." Though the thought leaks out afterwards, "Not that she needs them. There's also something in there about an office pool concerning the outcome of this confrontation between two formidable women. The going odds don't favor Emma. Finally, he settles himself across the room with a third device which doesn't seem to actually do anything at the moment. Probably the most important of the tools he brought, the experimental device is meant to detect the active use of psychic abilities in its vicinity. Twirling her fingers together, Maria Hill amends, "A start." As if mentally adjusting a ledger then, with the fact that Emma has in her mind just passively confirmed if the grand jury does render a verdict, they would have considerable grounds to do so, her expression blank. "But just a start." She goes on. "We would expect updates on the current status of the Club's membership and activities within the Inner Circle on a regular basis and the investments of it." Clear things only a member of the Circle would be able to pass along. Emma Frost narrows her eyes a little at Dugan, not seeing the relevance of that. Naturally, there is active psychic ability presently active. Emma's abilities are always active, it's actually difficult for her not to be active. It's why sneaking up on her is almost impossible. She looks back to Maria in short order, nodding her agreement with that,"Of course. I'll offer you a free hint though, I've no idea what the bulk of that is. My updates won't do you as much good as you think. For several reasons." She actually frowns at this admission. Dugan decides to ask the obvious question, 'And those reasons would be?" He says, "Are you banned from the clubhouse?" leans back in his chair as the gaze narrows in on him. The agent frowns at his prototype device, trying to tune out the background levels from Emma, and so far failing. He looks to Hill with a shrug, not sure what further use he is here at the moment. This discussion is so vary far above his pay grade. There's a quiet narrowing of Hill's eyes, "And yes. If you don't have something useful to offer.. Ms. Frost, we have plenty of resources when it comes to industrial contacts. We would expect something more.. Significant, particularly given the grade of what you apparently expect SHIELD to do in turn." Emma Frost hrms a little at Dugan, her gaze shifting back to him as she deigns to answer, with a slight chill in her voice,"The biggest reason is Sebastian Shaw, followed in order of importance with the Massachusetts Academy and my dear departed sister." She looks back to Maria then continuing after a beat,"Those are why. I'm not out of the club, the club is split. Thanks to that." "I thought you and Shaw were old friends." Dugan nods and leans forward to scribble a note for himself. "On the matter of the disappearance of your sister, any chance she surfaces? After all that might change how we are able to proceed." Leaning back over Maria Hill glances over, "Ms. Frost, if you have something to offer, by all means do so. And we are.. Quite familiar with the state of relations that exist with Mister Shaw and your family as well." As Emma continues on, she gives a very slight nod. Emma Frost raises her chin ever so slightly as she replies with utter certainty,"She is quite dead. As for my family, the only relationship is me minimizing them in the company until Frost testosterone is no longer a concern for the ledgers. At that point, I'm confident 'Mister Shaw's' interest in it will be a matter of...statistics." She hrms ever so slightly as she lowers her chin a touch before continuing in business tone, "You've made it plain that my requested service is not out of the question, and I've made it plain that my sister is indeed dead. It isn't a matter of 'if' I have something to offer." Dugan smiles just a bit and speaks, "Well, one of your statements is incorrect, but we are still talking so it is not the one about you having something to offer." He then gives Maria a bit of a smile. The Agent looks to Ms. Hill and, following her lead, produces one more thing from the case he came in with. It's a printed and bound report with a "Classified" stamp on the cover, and a notation that reads, "Incident Report: Massachusetts, followed by a date code that corresponds to the bombing of the Academy. He extends the report to Emma, then adds a personal summary. "Ms. Frost. I was part of the team sent in after the incident. We catalogued the scene thoroughly, and did an analysis of the blast. There were no adult female remains in the blast zone." The printed report is a much more detailed version of his summary." Emma Frost takes the report from Donnelly and immediately takes on an air of irritation as she speed reads the details within. She looks to them and says,"That bitch personally killed half of my students, if this is some sick gimmick to get a confession you can read my face." Hers is characteristically unapologetic incidentally, she then adds directly to Donnelly,"When I left, there was an adult female body." Maria Hill casually folds her hands together, "Ms. Frost, believe me, that SHIELD does otherwise not particularly care of whatever crimes you might or might not have committed in your acts of sibling rivalry. We also do not otherwise have the inclination to fake extensive forensics results the likes of which your lawyer could probably harrangue or bribe the district attorney to retrieve. We have no need to. And on top of that.." She gestures at the Agent to continue The agent looks at Emma and shakes his head, "There was blood when we got there. Quite a lot of it, truth be told. No body though." Though he keeps his face looking businesslike, the telepath catches the thought as his mind goes, "Speaking of bodies..." as he looks her. Then he in turn digs out one more "goody" from his bag of tricks. This one is a simple financial report. detailing the movement of major holdings of Frost Enterprises into of shore holdings in the months after the bombing. Given the banking practices of several of the nations involved, there is no legal way that SHIELD could have this document. Yet here it is. Dugan in is own rare blunt way summarizes the report for Emma, "Your daddy sure did go to an helluva lot of trouble to sign away about everything he ever had and do it on the QT" Emma Frost narrows her eyes like razors as she looks squarely at Maria and says,"And now what do I owe? You obviously know full well what I've invested in keeping what's mine and taking what's theirs." Maria goes to fold her fingers together, "Everything, Ms. Frost. If you feel otherwise, then the Agent will simply wipe your mind of the last half hour, and you won't recall any of this meeting." No knowledge that her sister is out there, having had years to prepare the full bent of her insanity. Gesturing at the Agent, "So, Ms. Frost, I will give you a few moments to decide, but I will have to insist you decide quickly." The older Agent remains silent for now, he likely would have cut a different deal on his own but he does not contradict the superior officer while she is present. Agent Donnelly, meanwhile, gets the very last device out of his case. This one is a band of wire mesh clearly meant to go around the head, wired to a control unit. He hesitates, unsure whether or not his services are going to be needed for that. Also harboring some private doubts about how effective the mind blank is going to be against a world class telepath. Emma Frost hates her sister, but not enough to hand over what she's pieced together. She keeps her face exactly as is it is, even as she begins a mental partition for what comes next and utters,"If that's how you bargain, no deal. I was more than generous." She taps the financial records and slaps the files down before Maria on the table as she takes on her imperious air and declares,"Your loss, not mine. Next time, be willing to deal." Maria Hill's expression is blank as the two have a staredown. Dugan is probably inwardly chuckling at someone meeting Hill going full alpha strike on them and holding their own. The Agent is probably terrified and trying to figure out what is going on. The two women stare at one another for a few moments. Hill blinks first. "... Fine." Dugan speaks up now trying really hard to keep any mirth from his voice, "Alright now lets get down to dealing." he then says, "Til now things have been kept pretty general." Agent Sean Donnelly is a career SHIELD field tech trained in the use of various special equipment ranging from basic security devices (as seen here) to heavy weapons and demolitions. He has defused bombs while barely blinking. He is currently in a cold sweat, fully aware of how dangerous to both his career and his person the women in this room are. He clears his throat, "Ma'am? Does that mean this won't be needed?" He really hopes it means the mind blank can be put away. The White Queen earned her reputation long ago, it's a title she relishes and does everything to live up to. Emma nods cordially to Maria, then looks to Dugan where she finally eases up on her demeanor,"By all means. Let's." Out of the corner of her eye, she still keeps a tab on Maria at this point, keenly aware of the risks in testing pride. There's a growl over from Maria Hill then. But Dugan would notice she is not -telling- him tos hut up or otherwise tellnig the Agent he has to keep the weapon up. Which probably for Dugan's mind is enough to ease into negotiations. Dugan nods, "Alright let me clear you want us to get this whole Massachusetts Academy business swept under the rug and I assume you also want to be kept in the loop if and when we get any additional intel on your sister. The question is what do we get in return? I have a few ideas but I am interested in hearing yours." Agent Donnelly looks a bit relieved as he packs away the mind blank. The first agent who field tested is "recovering nicely" by all reports. It doesn't take a telepath to read his relief. Hill is otherwise irritated enough to go quiet, maintaining her stony facade, but is letting Dugan take over the negotiations at this point. Just barely avoiding edging her teeth together Emma Frost clears her throat slightly, her teeth grinding as she recollects her thoughts from the borderline spat that has just past. The White Queen begins,"Yes, that would be ideal. I trust I would know if I weren't the majority share holder in Frost Industries so as the COO, my position is the inside of everything that happens. Between the two, I'm more valuable there than the actual CEO or President but you know that." She draws a breath then, to let that sink before continuing,"While I may not be inside everything in the Hellfire Club any more than the rest of the Inner I do still know things as you rightly assumed. I'm not totally blind to what Shaw gets up to, or the Black Queen. Admittedly, she recruits less than anyone so there's not much to tell about her you likely don't know." She then considers for a moment, her brows knitting before she tosses out there,"How many telepaths do you have?" Dugan nods, "How much influence do you still have in the club rank and file. Lets face it we know the Club has a sizable mercenary force working for it." He then smiles, "There may be occasions when we have targets that we can't move against even covertly with our own people." He does not answer any questions about Psi-Division. Agent Donelly sits back with all the apparent attentiveness of a commuter on the New York City subway. Which is to say, he seems reasonably oblivious to his surroundings. And for all the same reasons commuters adopt that look. One does not want to be thought to be eavesdroopping. Even if they are. There's a look over from Hill. A slight nod given to Dugan and to Frost. She finds this acceptable. Then to the Agent with a little growl. "You understand that discussion of this is above your clearance, agent, and that you were brought here due to your expertise in the field on the details?" Emma Frost nods at Dugan's assessment, almost smirking as she sees where he's going. She replies,"I still have influence and contacts, I didn't pull away on my own and there are those who simply fear me more than Shaw." It isn't false bravado on her part either. There are things a telepath like her can accomplish that someone like Shaw can't approximate. Privately, she doesn't mind the opportunity presented for flexing muscle again. Dugan nods, "Then I think we have a deal." He then says, "As with all assest we do expect regualr reports and we will give you a number to contact in case you need assistance in the field." He glances to Maria to make sure he has not overstepped his bounds as he adds, "This number is to be only used on matters concerning SHIELD." The agent looks a bit insulted as he is Scolded. He replies crisply, "Yes, ma'am. Wouldn't be here if I didn't have the training to know when to keep my mouth shut." Of course, that doesn't help with a telepath in the room, which is why Emma catches the added thought, "Or if I hadn't drawn the short straw..." There's a look from Hill, "Override Alpha Seven Three Four Two Dee Six Authorization Hill." RIght over as the Flashy Thing goes off over in the Agent's eyes... The White Queen's posture is stoic as the MIB flasher goes off on Donnelly, causing Emma to privately wonder if Maria is latent telepath herself. She replies to Dugan in a demure tone,"Of course. It's a deal." Dugan stands and offers his hand to Emma, he is that old school that requires a handshake for things to be a real deal. "Well it has been a pleasure doing business with you Miss Frost. I hope we both will enjoy the benefits." The (likely) drooling Agent is given a -look- from Hill. "Then we're in agreement." A nd the unspoken 'and done here'. "And we will be in touch." Emma Frost smiles coolly to Dugan as she accepts his hand, herself unaccustomed to such quaint pleasantries. She glances from him to Maria then, not needing her telepathy to get the cues from her,"It's been a pleasure." She offers this with a tone that almost passes for genuine, and with her background might in fact be. The group otherwise scatters to the night then. For Emma, a series of troubling discoveries - the forensics information and bank accounts left in her care 'anonymously'. Logan had not been making an understatement when he went on about the rabbit hole.